Bomb strikes gas station in Syrian capital

An explosion struck a gas station in the Syrian capital, Damascus, early Friday, killing at least 10 people in the second attack in three days on people lining up for scarce fuel.

A bomb struck the Qasioun gas station in the northeastern Damascus neighborhood of Barzeh, killing and wounding many people, the government news agency SANA reported, blaming terrorists, its shorthand for its opponents. The semiofficial news channel al-Ikhbariya showed what appeared to be 10 burned corpses near a row of gas containers.

Anti-government activists said the explosion was caused by a bomb in a car or minibus, and they put the death toll between nine and 11, adding that it could rise because many victims were in critical condition.

One activist in Damascus, Moaz, who gave only a first name for safety reasons, said he believed the government was behind the bombing in Barzeh and an explosion that killed at least 30 people on Wednesday at a gas station in Mleiha, an eastern suburb of Damascus. Both areas have been contested recently by rebels fighting the government of President Bashar Assad.

Moaz said the attacks were reminiscent of a spate of airstrikes and artillery attacks in northern Syria on bakeries, which are among the few places that people congregate in war-torn cities, where bread is typically scarce.

''The people are being punished and disciplined, because the regime wants them to say again that Bashar is their master," he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and it was unclear who was behind the bombing. Some rebel groups are increasingly using car bombs, and there has been an increase in the number of car bombs targeting civilians in neighborhoods that support the government and those that support rebels.

People flock to gas stations not only to fuel cars but to fill up containers of gasoline and diesel fuel for generators and heaters.

As civilians find themselves increasingly the targets, each side in the conflict blames the other. The Ikhbariya broadcast played a long video clip of charred body parts against a backdrop of solemn, patriotic music.

As efforts to reach a political solution appeared stalled, fighting continued around the country, with the government reporting that it pushed back a rebel assault on the Taftanaz air base in the north, a key helicopter base.

Reports of apparent summary executions by government forces continue to surface. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain, circulated two videos that it said were leaked from security forces. Their provenance could not be independently verified.

In one video, a soldier addresses his mother, appearing to suggest that he is killing a detainee in pre-emptive revenge in case a brother, perhaps serving in the army or missing, ends up dead: "I'm going to shoot a terrorist in case my brother Alaa doesn't come back, mom."

After shooting the man, he continues, "Did you hear, mother? My brother Alaa and all the soldiers want Bashar al-Assad."

Other voices then join him, saying this is the punishment of those who betray Assad.

Another video, circulated several days ago, shows men in uniform smiling at the camera near two prisoners standing against a wall with clothing over their heads. The men in uniform first slash the clothing of the prisoners, then stab them repeatedly as they groan and keel over.